Intel teams with Nokia to get chips into new mobile devices

Intel announced a partnership with Nokia today that will lead to Intel-based mobile computing devices and could signal its push back into mobile phones.

It’s unclear if this will mean a straight cell phone or smart phone or something between a smart phone and a netbook. But Intel said it will be creating a new mobile platform for an always-connected wireless Internet device with a user-friendly “pocketable form factor.”

The deal calls for Intel and Nokia to collaborate in several open source mobile Linux software projects and for Intel to acquire a Nokia HSPA/3G modem IP license. It appears that Intel will be working to create an architecture that combines computing and communications functions.

The news appears to further Intel’s growing ambitions to get back into the cell phone market. It used to sell mobile chips based on the ARM design but sold the business in 2006 to Marvell.

Now with its Atom processors, which are more lower powered chips, Intel is positioning itself for a return to phones. Intel announced in February a partnership with LG to build a mobile device that will include a successor chip to the Atom.

The question is whether Intel can get its upcoming chips to be as power sipping as the ARM processors, which power most of the world’s cell phones. If cell phones are the ultimate target, Intel will need to be able to balance performance with battery life, something ARM designed chips do very well. But if they can pull it off, Intel can get into the cell phone market, where it really doesn’t play.